


Behind the Coat Hangers

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Category: Captain Marvel (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Carol is a useless lesbian, Carol with glasses, F/F, First Date, First Meetings, Fluff, Picnic, Pre-Relationship, That's why Maria loves her so much, high school ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-25 22:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20731526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: "Please, can I hide in here?"Carol wasn't about to refuse anything to a beautiful girl like her."Let me guess, he's your date?"Maria nodded and glanced back at the door fearfully. Carol pointed to the coat rack with her thumb."I'll take care of it."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So what happened is I was binge-watching Community yesterday and out of nowhere Brie Larson jumped out from behind a coat rack and suddenly I had a new idea for a CarolMaria story! It's kind of magical really. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it!

If there was one thing worse than going to her high school's winter ball, it was working as a cloakroom attendant for said ball. But Carol needed the money to buy herself that sweet Mustang she'd been dreaming about, and as long as she didn't have to deal with any real cloaks – what kind of weirdo would put on a cloak at a high school ball? - everything would be fine.

She'd been confined to the tiny closet they'd converted into a cloakroom for two hours now. At first, she'd tried reading but the music coming down the hall was so loud it was distracting. Eventually, she'd abandoned her book back into the 'Lost and Found' box she'd taken it from, and started glancing at the clock every few minutes. She tried to think about the money. She took the time to calculate how much money she won every time the hand of the old plastic clock moved. She huffed when she realized she was winning eight cents per minute, and that had to be illegal, right?

At one point, she ran out of hangers, but she also found that she couldn't refuse any coats handed to her as long as the people had their tickets to the ball. It wasn't her fault the school didn't have enough coat hangers! So she started pilling the coats on top of each other, and when she ran out of place, she started hiding behind the coat racks. They couldn't give her their coats if she wasn't actually there, now, could they?

She was hidden behind one of the hangers when she heard someone walking inside the closet. They were trying to be very quiet about it, but their shoes clacked on the floor loudly. It was probably a girl in heels, Carol suspected. She held her breath, waiting. Maybe someone had taken pity on her and brought her food? She hadn't thought about bringing any and she was famished. She soon heard the sound of the hangers being moved on the rack. Either the woman on the other side was looking for her jacket, or she was looking through the coats' pockets for valuables. Either way, Carol reasoned it was probably time to do her job.

She pushed the hangers aside suddenly, revealing herself on the other side.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

The woman jumped back in surprise with a gasp. Carol looked her up and down, and her brain had to restart. The young woman on the other side was gorgeous. She was taller than Carol and even taller with her heels. She wore a beautiful blue dress, the collar and sleeves of which were made of lace. She had short black hair. Snowy white flowers were wrapped around her left wrist. Somehow her dark skin was shining under the dirty fluorescent light of the closet, instead of looking duller, like Carol's. Her dark eyes still betrayed her surprise, while she was trying to understand what was going on.

Carol stepped out from between the coats and pushed her glasses up her nose. She crossed her arms and looked at the girl, expecting an answer. The other girl finally seemed past the initial surprise.

“I'm sorry... I was looking for my coat and since I didn't see you...”

Before she could finish her explanation properly, a loud voice echoed down the hall.

“Maria?”

The other girl visibly stiffened. Both she and Carol looked back at the hall, then the girl, whose name was most likely Maria, begged Carol:

"Please, can I hide in here?"

Carol wasn't about to refuse anything to a beautiful girl like her.

“Let me guess, he's your date?”

Maria nodded and glanced back at the door fearfully. Carol pointed to the coat rack with her thumb.

“I'll take care of it.”

Maria jumped through the coats and crouched, moving the coats in front of her as much as possible. Carol sat back on the stool by the door and picked up the book out of the box, opening it at a random page and pretending to be deeply absorbed by it. Frankly, she couldn't blame the poor guy who'd 'lost' the book. The Great Gatsby was boring and all the men in the story were entitled assholes. Now, Jordan on the other hand...

There was a knock on the door and Carol looked up from the book. A man in a tuxedo was leaning against the doorframe. She recognized him quickly. Frank, from the football team. Of course, Maria's date would have been one of the guys from the football team.

“Excuse me,” he started. “Have you seen a girl come through? Blue dress, short black hair?”

Carol put her book on a nearby shelf and jumped off the stool to face the guy. He was taller than her but she didn't let the fact intimate him.

“Dude, unless your date's a coat, she's not here.”

Frank looked over her head and into the room. Carol held her breath, praying Maria was well-hidden. When he leaned back and looked at Carol again, she supposed the other girl was as good at hide-and-seek as she was.

“You sure you haven't seen her? Maybe she took her coat or something...”

Carol frowned at him.

“You think I wouldn't remember if someone came to pick up a coat in the past thirty minutes? No one has come to pick up a coat yet! People are still arriving, and they are still giving me their coats, and I am out of hangers! So unless you want to help me and actually pick up your coat, please leave!”

Carol's shouts about coats and hangers had scared Frank enough that he turned around and after one last glance inside the room, he walked back to the party. Carol waited until she could no longer see his back to close the door again.

“You can come out.”

Maria appeared from behind the coat rack and stepped through the coats as Carol had previously done.

“Thank you. I think you just saved my life.”

Carol shrugged with a smile.

“I don't know about your life, but at least I saved your night?”

Maria laughed lightly.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“So tell me,” Carol started as she sat back on her stool, “how did you end up with Frank?”

“I don't know. He just asked me out and I said yes.”

Carol looked at Maria up and down once again, then snapped her fingers.

“You're the new girl, aren't you? That's why you didn't know.”

“What? That Frank is as boring as a piece of paper.”

“A blank piece of paper, yeah,” Carol confirmed, making Maria laugh again.

“Consider me in the know.”

Silence fell between the two, though the loud music from the party continued to filter through the door.

“I think I've seen you before,” Maria finally said. “History class, with Mr. Coulson? Aren't you the one always sleeping at the back?”

Carol chuckled awkwardly. That was not what she expected at all.

“Yeah, that's me... I thought no one noticed.”

“I'm pretty sure even Coulson knows you're sleeping through all of his classes.”

Carol huffed.

“It's not my fault I have to get up super early every day to train.”

Maria frowned and looked her up and down again. Carol was wearing dark pants and a blue polo shirt with the school's name on it. A paper name-tag was glued to her chest, with her name hastily written on it.

"You're Carol Danvers? The star of the track team?"

Carol grinned proudly. Now that was more like it.

“That's me.”

"I wanted to join the track team too but I missed the tryouts," Maria explained.

“Oh, well, I'm sure I could ask the coach to give you a chance.”

Maria was surprised by Carol's suggestion.

“Really? Why?”

"Well... I mean..." Totally not because you're gorgeous and I want to get to know you, Carol thought. "You outran Frank in heels, I just assumed you must be pretty fast..."

Maria chuckled, and Carol pushed her glasses up her nose, hoping to hide what she was sure to be a blush.

"I mean if you wouldn't mind. I used to be in the team in my old high school, but like I said, between the moving, and changing school and all."

Carol brushed Maria's worry aside.

“Totally. I'll ask coach Monday, don't worry.”

“Thanks.”

Their conversation came to a lull again, Carol pursing her lips and looking anywhere else but at Maria's beautiful face. Finally, Maria asked:

"So, how come the star of the school's track team isn't attending the ball?"

Carol shrugged.

“Oh, you know... No one to invite, really. And I need money. To buy a car,” Carol added quickly. “It's a Mustang, so, you know, it's pretty expensive and all...”

“What kind of Mustang are we talking about here?”

“What do you mean?”

“What kind of Mustang are you trying to buy? One of those new Mustang V, or a GT, or a III?”

Carol's mouth hung open for a moment as she processed the question. Not only was Maria gorgeous and funny, but she was into cars too? Where have you been all my life, Carol thought.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to find her answer. Maria waited patiently. Finally, Carol managed to push the words out of her throat:

“It's a Mustang Shelby GT 500.”

Maria whistled, impressed.

“Damn, you have expensive tastes.”

Carol chuckled.

“Not really... It's a second hand, there's a bullet hole in the door so the owner is giving me a discount. I asked him to put it aside for me last year. I've been saving up, you know? Just a few hundred more and it'll finally be mine.”

“A bullet hole?” Maria asked, worried.

“It's a long story.”

There was a sudden knock on the door. The girls exchanged a look of worry. Was Frank back? Through the door, they suddenly heard a weak voice asking:

“Is the cloakroom still open? I just want to leave my sweater...”

They both sighed, their entire body relaxing. While Carol moved to open the door, Maria picked up a coat hanger, on which a black leather jacket was hanging.

“I should probably let you work,” she said.

“Oh, no, it's okay...” Carol replied hurriedly. The past few minutes in Maria's company had definitely been the highlight of her night so far.

Still, Maria put her jacket on and handed the wooden hanger to Carol.

“Here. I heard you desperately needed some of those. And thanks.”

Maria pressed a quick kiss on Carol's cheek then opened the door. Carol watched her go silently. She couldn't think of a single word to hold her back.

“Excuse me?”

Carol glared at the kid who was standing by the door, a sweater in his hand. He cowered back in fear.

“I... I just wanted to drop my sweater off?”

“What kind of person wears an old sweater to a formal ball? Show me your ball tickets!” Carol ordered.

As the kid frantically searched his pockets for his ticket, Carol looked back at the hallway, but Maria was already gone.

* * *

Carol had spent all weekend replaying her encounter with Maria in her head. Things could have played out so different, if only she had found the right words to make her stay. She was torn between 'You could always stay to keep me company' and 'Please, stay, I'm so bored all alone in this closet'. Maybe a mixture of both? Not that it mattered anymore. Come Monday, she was still mulling over it, and also trying not to fall asleep against her locker. She'd woken up extra early to talk to the coach about Maria, and he was okay with letting her tryout.

“Carol?”

Carol jerked awake, almost banging her head against her open locker. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, then yawned as she looked to her side.

“I'm fine... just...”

She once again lost all her vocabulary when she found Maria standing beside her. She was wearing a heavy woolen sweater and a pair of slacks, with a backpack thrown over both her shoulders.

“Still getting over the ball?” Maria asked. “I heard they couldn't push everyone out until two a. m.”

Carol nodded.

“Two past twenty-four,” Carol replied, stiffening another yawn, “but who's counting. More money for me.”

Carol refocused on her locker and everything she was supposed to put inside. She looked at the book in her hand, put it inside, then realized she needed it, and pulled it out again.

“I wanted to thank you again for letting me hide in the closet with you,” Maria said. “I called Frank yesterday and apologized for running but I don't think he really cared.”

Carol huffed.

"Yeah, he didn't seem bumped about it at all, since he finished the night with another girl around his arm, or whatever."

Maria shrugged. The news didn't seem to bother her. Still, Carol added:

“You were too good for him anyway.”

Maria pursed her lips and looked away, as if embarrassed. Carol closed her locker and threw her backpack over one shoulder. Then, she continued:

“Oh, by the way, I asked the coach and he's okay with letting you tryout. We have practice tomorrow morning at seven. Just come and be ready to be judged by the entire team. But don't stress it, I'm sure you'll do great.”

Maria gasped in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I told you I would ask him.”

“Thank you! I'll definitely be there!”

Carol smiled and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets.

“Cool...”

Her voice trailed off as if she were trying to find her words again. Finally, she said:

“I have class...”

Maria frowned.

“Yeah, we both do. History, remember?”

Carol blinked.

“Oh, right.”

She wondered what other classes they shared. She turned to walk toward their History room, and Maria followed close by, walking by her side.

“So, I wanted to ask you...” Carol started nervously. “Would you mind sending me your notes on the History class? I think I stopped writing things down seven weeks ago...”

Maria rolled her eyes.

“I don't know why I'm not surprised. You know what? What are you doing today after three?”

"Going home and playing video games?" Carol replied though she suspected reality would be quite different.

“I could tutor you in History,” Maria suggested.

“You would do that?”

"Well, you helped me with track, I can help you with History."

“Those things are totally different but you know what? I accept.”

Maria smiled at her, and Carol's heart flutter in her chest. She liked the feeling. And maybe it would be a bit distracting while she would try to focus on History lessons, but if it meant she could spend more time with Maria, she didn't mind at all.


	2. Lovers' Cliff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months later, Carol has finally gotten her precious car. To celebrate, she invites Maria on a friendly picnic (which is absolutely not a date, thank you very much)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've had requests to continue this story so I decided to add this one chapter. I don't know if I'll add more. I could but I don't have any particularly interesting ideas for it. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the first one!

Carol readjusted her sunglasses on her nose and honked impatiently. Maria was already two minutes late. Not that Carol wanted her to hurry. She was trapped in an in-between, where she couldn't wait for Maria to come out of her house, but she also didn't want Maria to come out at all. In fact, she should just drive home. Cancel this whole date – it's not a date, you didn't ask her out, you simply said a friendly picnic – and go home.

The front door opened and Maria walked out, taking the decision out of Carol's hands. As soon as Carol saw her, she fumbled with her seat belt and tried to open the car door twice, before she realized it was locked. She unlocked the car and stepped out. She tried to lean casually against the car, arms crossed, but Maria was already standing beside her and all effect would have been completely lost.

“So this is the beast,” Maria said, uprising the car with a long look.

“Well, I've never been called a beast before, but if you say so,” she said with a smile, hoping her voice didn't betray her nervousness.

Maria looked at her with a frowned.

“I know you were talking about the car, but I tried to make a joke, okay?” Carol added quickly.

Maria chuckled lightly, making Carol's heart fluttered. She looked at the car once again. It was a beast indeed. A slick sports car, with a still shining coat of dark blue paint. She wondered whether Carol had taken the time to polish it before taking it out. Or maybe the previous owner had. Two large white lines ran from the front of the car to the back. However, it wasn't hard to see that it was a second hand. There was a bump on the back, probably due to a collision. And there weren't just one bullet holes, but two, leading up to the window which, she assumed, had been changed since.

“Ready for the ride of your life?” Carol finally asked, fanning enthusiasm.

“As long as you'll let me drive later,” Maria said as she rounded the car to sit in the passenger seat.

Carol frowned as she took her place back behind the wheel.

“Did I promise you could drive?”

“I'm pretty sure you did.”

Carol hummed, trying to remember the particular moment she had promised such a thing. She then remembered she had indeed blurred it out from fear of Maria refusing to go on a date – not a date – with her.

“Well, we'll see.”

She turned on the car and it purred to live. Maria's eyes grew wide in surprise.

“Will you be mad if I tell you I'm already in love with your car?”

Carol tried to come up with something cool to reply and not strangle herself with her own spit:

“I'm sorry, but we're in a very exclusive relationship. She's suffered too many broken hearts already.”

Finding nothing else to add, she shifted gear and drove off.

* * *

As Carol drove, Maria looked at the inside of the car in more details. Though it was a second hand, it had hardly been used. It had barely any miles under its belt and the leather seats still smelled... Actually, there was a strange smell in the car. Maria frowned.

"Why does your new car smell like cheese?" she asked.

“That is probably because of the food,” Carol said, gesturing to the back with her head. Maria looked at the backseat. A picnic basket was resting there, and Carol had even bothered to place a seat-belt around it, which made Maria chuckle.

“Did you really prepare a picnic for us?”

Carol pursed her lips. Was it too romantic? She'd kept asking herself the same question all morning, so she'd compromised.

“I bought almost everything,” she replied with a shrug.

“You should have told me, I would have bought some stuff too.”

“Oh, no, you know it's... it's nothing really,” Carol replied casually.

Maria continued to stare at Carol for a moment as if trying to decide something. Carol glanced at her nervously but Maria started looking at the road once again, so she didn't think about it too much. They fell into silence until Maria gestured to the radio.

“Can I?”

“Sure.”

Maria turned on the radio, and an old 90s rock song blared through the speakers. At first, Carol expected Maria to change, but she didn't, and they listened to the song together. Carol's head was bobbing in rhythm with the music, while Maria started tapping her foot on the floor. The car turned and entered the highway, and suddenly the air started infiltrating the cabin, so loudly that they could barely hear the song. After looking around curiously, Maria realized it came from the bullet holes, which had been covered by a useless piece of tape.

“Maybe you should get that fixed?” Maria suggested loudly, so she would be heard.

“I know...” Carol replied as she quickly rubbed the tape, hoping to glue it back to the door.

“So what's the story behind them anyway?”

“What?”

Maria turned off the radio, to minimize the noise.

“The bullet holes. You never told me about the bullet holes.”

"Oh well, as I said, it's a long story," Carol replied loudly. "Apparently the car used to belong to a member of the mob, like a pretty high ranking guy. And one day he got gunned down by his rivals while he was at a stop sign, I think. Anyway, the car became evidence, until it wasn't, and that's when they put it up for sale. The guy I bought it from actually bought it there, but his wife didn't like it, and it's not a really good family car, you know. So he put up an ad, and we made a deal, and that's how I got it!"

Maria struggled to find her words as Carol passed her hand on the dashboard almost lovingly.

“Wait, you mean a guy died in that car?!”

"Only in the driver's seat," Carol replied. "Plus he didn't die here. He got shot here and he bled out in the car, but he died in the ambulance on his way to the hospital. But hey, they did a really good job of cleaning up the blood!"

Maria looked at Carol's seat, and she swore she could see dark stains at the edge of it, but she would rather not think about it. She turned back to the road and watched the scenery go by, and desperately tried to think of something else.

* * *

They left the highway for a smaller road, and eventually a dirt road. Thankfully, it was smooth enough that the car rolled up easily. Carol stopped the car at the edge of the road, by a small wooded area. They climbed out and Carol picked up the picnic basket from the back. It looked heavy, but before Maria could suggest they carry it together Carol had already trotted off through a small path between the trees.

“Come on! It's right over there.”

Maria followed, and barely three feet from the car they emerged on a small grassy cliff. The edge of the cliff was protected by a rotted wooden barrier, which had seen better days. All sorts of names and initials had been scratched into the barrier. The cliff itself was overlooking the valley, and the entire city, giving them a clear view all the way to the bay.

Carol placed the basket down and pulled out a blanket for them to sit on. She put off her sunglasses and replaced them with her normal glasses. As she started pulling everything out of the basket, Maria looked at the valley below, then at the barrier, and all the marks on it.

“Carol?”

“Hm?”

“Did you bring us to some sort of lovers' cliff?”

Carol froze before she could pull the second soda can out of the basket. So maybe she had, but it wasn't a date, so it didn't matter. It just happened that this place had an amazing view and people like to come here because it was well hidden. And a good place for a makeout session. Which didn't matter because this wasn't a date.

“Technically it's called the midnight cliff, and it used to be a pretty popular date spot but that was a long time ago, like in the 90s or something. Nobody comes here anymore.”

Maria nodded and finally came to sit on the blanket. Carol emptied the basket on the blanket. Just as Maria had expected, she had bought way too much. Sodas, cupcakes, a bag of marshmallows as big as a pillow, chips, a small plate of vegetables, and the only thing Carol seemed to have done herself as they were still wrapped in aluminum paper, grilled cheeses.

“Are we expecting the rest of the track team?” Maria joked at the sight of this mountain of food.

“No?” Carol replied with confusion. “Why?”

“You bought enough food for ten people, so I thought you'd planned a party or something.”

While Carol struggled to find an answer, Maria chuckled.

“I'm kidding, Carol, relax!”

Still, Carol's laugh sounded nervous. She opened the bag of chips and stuffed her mouth before she could say anything else she thought was embarrassing. Instead of taking some chips, however, Maria opened the aluminum paper and pulled out a grilled cheese. It was still warm, but not enough to burn her fingers.

“So these are the only one you've made?” she asked.

“Yeah, but they're probably not very good,” Carol replied hurriedly.

Maria ignored her and bit into it wholeheartedly. It was quite good, a bit moist from staying in the paper for too long but the cheese was still melted and enjoyably gooey. Maria moaned at the taste and Carol dropped the bag of chips at the sound. Her mouth hung open in surprise as she watched Maria chew. Then she realized she was acting weird and she really should get her mind out of the gutter. She looked away and stuffed her mouth with more food.

* * *

They didn't eat all the food Carol had bought, but they did eat until they could barely move. Then, Maria fell back on the blanket and laid there. They were close enough to the trees that they were under their shadows, but also far enough that they could look at the sky without being blocked by the foliage. Carol imitated her friend, and they lay down side by side. The early spring breeze made the leaves rustled behind them. Large puffy clouds passed over the sun.

"You know how to make an awesome picnic, Danvers," Maria said. "Next time I'll show you my amazing talent for throwing slumber parties."

Carol smiled.

“I can't wait.”

They remained there for some time. While the sunlight faded under the clouds, they both felt themselves being lulled to sleep by their full stomachs. Maria slid a bit closer to Carol, and in doing so her hand accidentally grazed Carol's. Carol shivered suddenly as if the contact had electrocuted her. Yet she didn't move away from Maria. She remained absolutely, perfectly still. Maria moved her hand until she could take Carol's in hers. Carol let her do silently. As Maria entwined her fingers with Carol's, she turned her head to look at the blonde. She was looking perfectly straight ahead of her, and her face was as red as a carnation. She was fighting the goofy grin that was trying to blossom on her lips.

“Thanks for the date.”

Carol gasped and was quick to turn her head, only to find herself staring straight into Maria's eyes.

“It's not a date!”

Maria raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“But if you really want it to be a date, I don't mind. I mean I never asked you formerly, but...”

Maria smiled.

“Then do.”

“Do what?”

“Ask me out on a date.”

“I thought we were already on a date.”

Maria rolled her eyes.

"You just said you didn't ask me. In accordance with your rule, it can't be a date if you don't ask me first, right?"

Carol sighed. She pursed her lips, gathering her courage, then she finally asked:

“Maria? Would you like to go out on a date with me?”

She'd barely finished her question that Maria leaned forward, and their lips met. Carol was stunned at first, but when Maria tried to move away, she pursued her lips. She leaned closer, and closer until their short kiss had turned into a full-on makeout session. When Maria let go of her hand, Carol passed it through her short dark hair. Maria rolled slowly until she was laying on top of Carol, her arms supporting most of her weight. 

Carol pushed Maria lightly so she could breathe. They were both out of breath when Carol said:

“Hold on...”

She picked up the marshmallow bag and placed it under her head, exactly like a pillow.

“Here, better. You can kiss me again now...”

Her voice trailed off, swallowed by Maria as she kissed her again. Carol's hands found Maria's waist, and she held her close. Her brain hadn't connected to the events quite yet, but one thing was for sure. They weren't leaving until Carol had marked their initials on the wooden post.


End file.
